Mobile Life Tips #3: Podcasts Chances are, you may have heard of these, but you may not know what they are. Basically, they are recorded broadcasts that can be subscribed to, free, and listened to on your portable MP3 player. No, you don't need an iPod, but it works superbly with an iPod. The software is free, the content is free. For entertaining you on your commute, it's pretty hard to beat.

Why they are good
Fresh, original content, or your favorite radio program, that automatically are downloaded and put on to your MP3 player, every time you connect it to your computer? That's sweet.

What kinds of programs are there?
Well, depends on your mood. Many are amateur, like audio blogs. Some are dommercial-free versions of radio programs. Examples on my iPod: Air America's Al Franken Show and Majority Report; WNYC's NPR program of On The Media; Engadget.com's occasional tech review of cool gadgets. Heck, I'm even starting to listen to a podcast-only audioboo: new chapters are released every so often!

How the heck can this be free?
Well, it's pretty easy to make podcasts available, and the bandwidth to download them is minimal. Basically, if you have something to say, you can say it. Some commercial broadcasters insert some minimal "Sponsored by..." ads, and still others are experimenting with paid subscriptions (a la Audible.com). It's still a new medium, so there's a lot of shaking out to do.

If you have an iPod, and a commute, and your music only takes you so far, think of this as Tivo for internet radio: subscribe to what you want, and listen when you want. It's that simple.

BTW, Steve Jobs announced that the next version of iTunes will support podcasting in the program directly, so it's only going to get bigger!  ¶ 12:52 PM